The Incan Empire

Government

The head of the Inca government had many names, those names included “Sapa Inca”, “Capac Apu”, “Intip Cori”, or “Inca.” The Sapa Inca was an all powerful leader similar to a monarch. Each Sapa Inca put his relatives, along with the nobles, in positions of power, to help him rule the Inca empire. Each Sapa Inca had four top advisors, who made sure the relatives and nobles did the work they were assigned to do. 

The Incan Empire expanded through conquest. Each time a new tribe was conquered, a governor was put in charge of the new area. As the population grew, so did the number of government officials, including the number of tax collectors. 

When a new law was put in place by the Sapa Inca, word went down the line from the top officials until it reached the bottom officials, and from there to the common people. Since the common people had no say in government, that was the law until a new law came down. This system worked well, and the Inca population grew to about 12 million people. 

Economy

The government controlled the Inca economy. Citizens paid taxes with labor instead of currency (money). In exchange for their taxes the citizens were provided with all of the necessities of life.

Each Inca citizen was assigned a job and it was his or her job for life. Farming, building roads, temples, aquaducts, fortresses, suspension bridges and government buildings, metal working, basket weaving were all jobs that an Inca citizen could be assigned. Some citizens were assigned to medical field and there they developed anesthesia and even performed surgery on the human skull.

With this influx of labor, the Inca’s were able to build an extensive road system. If laid end to end the road system would stretch for 2,250 miles. Use of this road system was limited and only used by the government and the nobles. Citizens could only use the road system if given permission.

Farming in the Incan community was challenging. Corn, potatoes, and quinoa were some of the Incas major crops. The Incas created terrace farming. Terrace farming is created when flatland is carved or created on a hill or mountainside. Another name for this is steppe farming.

Social Life

There were two classes of people in the Inca Empire, the nobles or royals and the commoners. It was easy to tell if someone was a royal. When a royal was just a small child, a board would be strapped to their heads. This would force the top of their heads to grow almost to a point. Men had their ears pierced when they were about 12-14 years old. The men all wore really heavy earrings, designed to change the shape of their earlobes. By the time they were 20 years old or so, their earlobes had been pulled so out of shape that they rested on their shoulders.

All the nobles lived a life of luxury. They could own land, but they did not have to farm it themselves, or pay taxes. The commoners did that job. Some nobles actually had jobs in the government, but most nobles spent their time trying to look ever more attractive, and trying to think of ways to entertain the Sapa Inca and his family. 

Rich and poor dressed in the same fashion, although perhaps not with the same softness of fabric. Men wore knee length tunic, with a poncho for warmth. The women wore long dresses and wrapped themselves in colorful blankets or capes as needed. Men and women wore jewelry. The Inca people loved anything that glittered. They loved embroidery. 

The common people had no freedom. By Inca law, they could not travel on the roads. By law, they could not be idle. They had a little time each day for bathing and eating and sleeping, and the rest of the time, they had to be working. 

The common people lived and worked in small groups or units. There were a dozen or so people in each unit. Each person in each unit had a job to do. If you did not do your work, you were breaking the law, and could be killed. 

Most commoners, as usual, were farmers. The emperor controlled all the land and each group worked a plot of land given to them by a government official. That official let them keep food to feed themselves. The rest was given to the nobles and the emperor. 

There was a tax on the food the common people kept.  But the Incas did not use money. This "tax" was paid in labor. When the farmers were not farming, they were mining, or fixing the roads (the only time they could walk on the roads), or building something. There were many laws that kept commoners tightly controlled. For example, if a man did not marry by the time he was twenty, a wife would be selected for him, and he had to marry her. Babies were left alone all day, by law, because care for crying babies took time away from work. The only training kids of the common people received was how to do a job. The job they were assigned as a child was their job for life. 

The common people, except for craftsmen, did not live in the city. Each unit lived together in a hut in their field.  Homes had no windows and no way to leave except by the front door. The door was covered only by a piece of leather or woven cloth. Inspectors checked to make sure all people were in their homes only when they should be. 

Religion

The Inca religions was polytheistic, this means that they worshipped more than one god. Although they had many gods, their main god was Inti-the sun god. To worship Inti and their many gods, the Inca’s performed many rituals including sacrifices. They would also present offerings of food, drink and clothing to their gods.